Jericho Rose
by Comidia Del Arte
Summary: Alice had grown accustom to living apart from her family, only having to worry about them during reunions. But when the world stops dead, she is the only adult left to take care of her nephew. It isn't long until she takes on an outer shell devoid of life, as she and her nephew tumble through the apocalypse. They might as well be a couple Jericho roses.
1. Aunt Alice

The groans of the dead echoed like thunder, reverberating like the tolling of the death bell. Alice had her arms around her nephew, making every attempt to comfort him through their entrapment. The two had come into this barn 3 days ago in order to escape a small herd of biters. They had been living off a severally rationed water supply, and a couple protein bars. The herd had grown since then, and, brainless as they were, the biters were making quick work of the lower support beams of the hay loft the pair had taken refuge in.

This was not usual, in most cases, biters had a short attention span, and after a few hours they would lose interest and lumber off in search of an easier meal. Perhaps their food supply was running low; maybe hunger was driving them to adopt patience into their hunting strategies. Christ, who was she kidding, it was just rotten luck! She had a single bullet left, only having run out a couple weeks ago. Her ill desire to raid the last couple houses had robbed them of the opportunity of escape. Pulling Gabriel all the tighter, Alice sang quietly hoping that something so simple as music would calm the 12 year old. "Yesterday, a child came out to wonder, caught a dragonfly inside a jar…"

Her eyes darted around the barn; they were running out of time. The biters were activated at the slightest bit of sound, and Gabriel's whimpers weren't helping. Normally the kid was silent as a mouse, but the thought of impending death seemed to bring out to the yowling cat. Alice had been hatching a make-shift plan for a few hours now. "Tearful, when the sky is full of thunder…"

To the far right of them was a window. More crappy luck had made it so that the two came into a barn that was probably rotting away years prior to the apocalypse. There was only one small bit of loft left, and that was where Alice and Gabriel were. "And tearful at the falling of a star…."

Alice leaned forward a little, taking in the couple inches of wood that once supported the other portion of the loft. It looked durable, looked like it hadn't submitted to the rot just yet. If it could support several pounds of wood and hay, perhaps, even in this state, it could support a 90-100lb kid. The kid, most definitely, but her, she wasn't entirely sure. At the thought, Alice kissed the boy on the head. "And the seasons, they go round and round, the painted ponies go up and down. We're captured on a carousel of time."

The wood of the loft began to creaked again; the biters had taken out the first pole. Alice coaxed Gabriel up and got him to move away from the weak side. "We can't return, we can only look, behind from where we came, go round and round in the circle game."

Catching site of the look of wide eyed fear on her nephew's face, Alice spoke softly. "Gabe, I have a plan, and I need you to listen."

At her words, the kid looked up, waiting for orders. His gaze filled with every iota of trust and expectation. In the first few weeks, Alice had been staggered by that look. It was absolutely foreign to her, having no kids of her own and barely knowing Gabriel before this, she did not have a clue how to take it. Now, now was different, it had been almost a year, and she had come to expect that sort of reliance, just as Gabriel had expected her to have the answer to every situation.

Taking a deep breath, Alice got up into a crouch, Gabe followed her example. Gesturing towards the window, she launched into her plan. "You understand that we can't touch the ground?"

Gabe nodded. "Good boy, see that couple inches of wood along the wall?"

Again he nodded. "Alright, that's our way across."

The boy eyed the beam, and bit his lip. Despite the several months composed of living in trees, Gabriel had a fear of heights and adding the 'don't touch the ground filled with biters' factor was not helping in the slightest. Glancing at Alice and then at the ground he whispered. "I-I don't think I can…"

Shaking her head, his aunt didn't dare look at him. "Well, _I_ think you can. And _you're _going to shuffle to that window."

Gabe glared at her; she did this every time she wanted him to do something. Even when he saw her during family reunions, she'd pull stuff like this. "I don't think I fucking can Aunt Alice."

That got her attention. The pair looked to be snarling at each other, identical amber brown eyes boring into each other. "Look kid, I don't care if it's the end of the world, you'll watch your damn mouth, and none of that Aunt Alice crap either."

Though Alice was in no way her sister and cursed like a drunk sailor, she was sure to respect Linda's wishes that Gabe did not taking up cursing. "Now, you have to move quickly, they've taken out a pole, got one left and the support beams, and that won't be much to hold our weight."

Gabe swallowed a great deal of spit and fear, nodding in understanding. "What about you?"

She chuckled, giving him a playful nudge "Concerned 'bout your aunty eh?"

He nephew didn't share the joke. Knowing this, Alice looked straight at him. "I'll be right behind ya, alright…. We'll be ok."


	2. Keep Going

His gaze faltered. "Promise?"

Nodding, she affirmed "Promise."

Alice could hear the biters slamming into the second pole; they'd make short work of that one. They had pretty much doubled in numbers. "Alright Gabe, you're gonna go first, ok….. To, ummm, test the beam; see how much it can hold."

Spouting shit like that would make him more inclined to go first, it would minimize arguing and wasted time. Gabe would feel like he was doing something, and Alice could get him out of danger faster. Before, she sent him off, she handed over her backpack. "Remember what I told you to do if we got separated?"

Gabriel nodded. "Mark the trees I pass, when I settle write 'Al, couldn't wait, had to keep moving.' If you don't come in by morning, move on, right?"

The question had made him nervous. "But, that won't happen…?

Alice ignored that bit distracted by her mental checklist. She handed him two knives. "Don't look down, look straight ahead, got it?"

With that, she hugged her nephew as if it would be the last. "Straight ahead ok?"

Gabe was terrified, but this was their only chance. Alice forced him towards the beam. "It'll be alright…"

Biggest fucking lie ever told. This in mind, Alice sent her nephew to balance on while trying to move the attention of the biters from him "Common you fuckers, feeding time."

Unsheathing her machete, Alice dragged it along her palm, and squeezed, eyeing the blood as it dripped, causing the biters to go frantic, clawing up at her in attempts to get closer to the source of food. Glancing up, she eyed Gabe, he was halfway across. Then he turned and the two stared at one another resulting in him freezing for a second, his body seizing up. "Straight ahead Gabe!"

It took a moment, but he bit back the fear and he was on the move again. _Almost there, common kiddo, so close. _He stepped onto the sill of the window and looked around, a nervous smile on his face. "Alright Ga-!"

There was a crash and final pole was torn down, resulting in the floor going out from under her. "ALICE!"

Instinct kicked in, and Alice went to cover her head as the rest of the loft came down on her. The splinters caught in her hair, jagged pieces of wood cut into her skin. The only good thing that came from this was that it was a momentary shield from the biters. The kid's voice cried out her name again, more frantic than before. "ALICE!"

She called out from beneath the scrap pile. "Just go, I'll find you! I promise!"

There was a pause. "B-but…"

Damn that kid, he couldn't stay here. "I said **go** damn-it!"

Alice could hear him fighting with his desire to stay; he did not want to leave her. Despite that, he knew better than to stick around, not for fear of the biters but for what his aunt might do if he refused to listen. Finally, the whimpering ceased, and at the point she knew that he was out of danger. At long last, Alice could respond properly to pain searing through her body, everything hurt, her face, her arms, her legs, nothing went untouched. Tears coursed down her cheeks, cutting through the bloody grime and fresh crimson. Alice had always been good at keeping her pain moments quiet. While others screamed and cried, all she did was take the pain in silence, tensing for long periods to ride out the waves of hyper sensitive nerves. Taking a deep breath, she worked her arms out of the position over her head. By the grace of God, she'd managed to hold onto her machete in the fall. The wood gave when the support of her arms left, resulting in the space closing in the biters were getting closer.

They were beginning to tear at the wood, trying to force away the blockade that kept them away from their meal. Alice could handle a group of them, she had a way of squirming out of their grasp, yet she had never fought them injured. Over a month ago, she had turned her ankle while jumping from a tree, then crapshoot luck resulted in a foot sprain when she attempted to walk the first off. Being of no use injured, she hobbled with Gabriel in tow to the nearest house and did not come out for a total of two days. That was the first time she had sent her nephew to scavenge without supervision. _He did alright on those trips, one mistake, but he still got more than enough food and water, he'll be ok if something happens I guess…._Gabe had never been left alone for more than a few hours. He did well, but he was still so reliant on his aunt for every answer, she never talked to him about the possibility of the worst. Alice blanked for a second and cursed herself. _I never prepared him for what might happen if I died….Fuck… How could I have been so selfish? I was supposed to prepare him for everything, and I fucking left that out… stupid-stupid-stupid!_

Alice was shaken from the thought when a sliver of light peeked at her from a newly made crack in the wood, followed by a series of clawed and even skinless fingers. Wouldn't be long till they got through, if she wanted to make it out of here, she would need to make her now. Looking over her shoulder as best as she could, she realized that somehow the loft had collapsed against the wall, she wasn't surrounded by biters on all sides, meaning that she could get through the wood without having to do it in the midst of their hands. A few minutes were all she needed to get her bearings, and then Alice would cut through those fuckers like grain. Tightening her grip on the handle of her machete, Alice began to claw her way out of the pile. Ignoring the splitters as they worked under her fingernails and into her skin, with a final push, Alice broke through, and came out facing the biter herd. In her left hand was her last knife and in the right, her machete, and the last bullet loaded into the gun and waiting for the worst. The biters shuffled towards her, moaning and hissing, hands outstretched and prepared to tear the flesh from her bones. Grip tightening on both weapons, Alice forced a smile and descended into the horde, blackened blood congealing from wounds she inflicted. Her eyes were set on the exit to the barn, her mind unyielding at the horrifying thought that she might not leave this shit-fest alive.


	3. Gabriel

Gabriel had not been much of a crier growing up, according to his mother he was like his aunt in that aspect. Any time he was hurt, his face would go red, there were tears, but no sobs would make moves to escape him. Since everything stopped, he had taken up the act rather quickly. He saw his mother and father turn before his eyes and he cried for several hours as they beat against his closet door. Their nails breaking against the wood, their heads busted against the frame as the groans and hisses echoed in his ears, even as he slept. Tucked away, curled into a ball

On the morning of his aunt's arrival, he heard his parents move away from the door. They hadn't done that in weeks, and when they did, it was because of a cat. He heard the cat screaming when they tore into it. He tried to leave but by the time he had gathered up the courage, they had eaten most of the cat, and had returned when his hand slipped on the desk, causing a lamp to shatter.

When his parents went away from the door, Gabe opened it just a crack. Only to see Alice put a machete through both their heads, he watched when she went to her knees and didn't move for a long time. Even then, Gabe couldn't bring himself to make a sound, and only did so when his aunt caught him peeking from the door. Her eyes were dry, absent of any tears. Absent of anything, they looked so empty, practically hollow. Yet, Gabe was so desperate for human contact; he ran to her and cried into her blood stained shirt. Only to jump slightly when she pulled him closer into a rib cracking hug, Alice felt like a wall that he could lean on. Even when she was hurting, she felt solid to him and he crumbled into her embracing ignoring the stench of sweat, blood, and what looked like biter bits.

They stayed in the house for a night, the pair slept in the living room, in the morning Alice raided the kitchen while Gabe ate his way through a box of Cheerios. He'd been living off his stash of candy when he had locked himself in his closet, he was grateful to be eating something that wasn't sour gummy worms. Within the hour, the two abandoned the house, and walked, and they kept walking. That was how it had been for almost a year. They'd stay in one location for a couple weeks at most, only to keep walking.

At one point they did try assimilating into a group, but it only lasted a month at most. Gabe knew something happened between his aunt and one of the men in camp. Other than that, all he knew was that she ran into their tent one afternoon, grabbed him and told him to pack up, while she kept an ear out for anyone who happened by their temporary home. Under the cover of night, the two ran. Well, Gabe did, he ran while Alice fell back for a good 20 minutes. When she joined him, he could have sworn he had heard people screaming, and it was coming in the direction of where they came. As the sun peaked in the sky, Gabe noticed that his aunt was darning one hell of a shiner, and her once clean shirt looked torn, as if someone had made a grab for her. Alice never talked about, and Gabe never brought it up, they just kept walking.

At long last, he came to what looked like a back road. According to the signs, it led into a small town. Running up to it, Gabe circled the town name and provided a signature, two misshapen wings. As he went he could recall something his aunt had said. _"The biters are moving away from the populated areas to find food." _So that meant that when the living abandons an area, so do the dead? He began to pick up the pace, the backpack slapping up and down as he went. Naturally after a few minutes, he was forced to slow down to a walk. Finally, Gabe had reached the main strip of road that cut through the mixture of houses and local market. Seeing a small 7/11 type store, he bee lined for it taking up a rock as he went. When he reached the entrance he threw it at one of the lights in the ceiling, drawing out any remaining biters. Just as the glass of the bulb careened into the floor, two biters lumbered out from behind the shelves. Without a word, Gabe advanced knives in hand. Making every attempt to not imagine what these things must have looked like when they were alive. _"Biters are dead, meaning dead weight, use that weight against em. They're not coordinated, you get the momentum going, they'll miss, and they'll stumble. That's when you strike. Once you get to my size, you'll be able to knock em down, but right now, you're small and fast." _Licking his lips in apprehension, Gabe went after the first one, which was a good few feet ahead of the second. He'd have to kill the first one fast, or the second on could overwhelm him. The biter lunged at him, arms outstretched. Leaping out of the way, he got behind it jumped up in order to lodge both blades into the back of its head. When it fell, he ripped them out and went after the second, taking it out quickly and quietly. It took a moment for him to come back down. This was his problem. Gabe was capable of taking out biters, but before and after he had a hard time not visualizing what these things once looked like. Cocking his head to the right, he noticed that one of them was wearing name tag. Just as he was about to read it he tore his eyes away, he couldn't bring himself to see it, to know it. It was bad enough that he could visualize what the biter looked like when alive. A laky woman with curled brown hair… No, no, doing this wasn't going to help, it only made it harder to keep going.


	4. Edge of Night

The sun was beginning to set on the entrance to the barn; it had gone from a hell storm of groaning death to absolute silence only twenty minutes ago. There appeared to be no movement, no life left in that desolate place. Suddenly, a lone figure could be seen lurching away from the entrance, a 20 gauge shot gun strapped to its back, dragging a machete, its entire front soaked in congealed blood. On first glance, most would assume the figure a biter, seeing that the right side of its face looked ragged and bloody. Yet, the dark brown eyes it bore betrayed the life it still possessed.

Alice left the barn as quickly as her sore and slightly injured legs could carry her. The right side of her face had been grazed by the clawed fingers one of the biters. Thankfully the bitch had done little damage, she wouldn't bleed out but if she did not clean the wound fast enough, an infection could set it. That in mind, Alice was forced to stop and take out the last of her water ration from the canteen clipped to her jeans and was left of the gauze from her pockets. Coming to a tree, she sat down, careful to avoid the patches of splintered wood that had wedged its way into the back part of her legs. After thoroughly washing her hands, and wrapping the cut she made on her hand, she tipped her head back and went out feeling for any particles, only to find a single chipped and dirty French tipped fingernail. With a muffled shriek she pulled it out quickly and cleaned out of the wound with some of the water.

Glancing at the nail, Alice chuckled in a hollow manner. In any other given situation this stupid fingernail would have been hilarious, or at least worthy of a more hearty laugh. For a moment, she found herself recalling an incident in high school that had resulted in a cleaner fake French tip breaking off in her arm. The fight was a vague memory… It might have had something to do with boy….? Christ, life had been so simple back then, never in a million years did Alice think she'd be surviving at the end of the world. Even now, it came off as unreal. With a roll of her eyes, Al dropped the biter nail, and went about her business.

After letting her skin dry for a second, she began the process of wrapping her face, leaving an opening for her mouth, being sure to cover the entirety of her cheek where the claw marks had been made. Her face stung like hell, but thankfully she had managed to stop the bleeding. Once that was over, she turned her attention to her legs.

One agonizing hour later, Alice had managed to pluck out most of the wood; crunch time dictated that the smaller pieces would have to wait till she found Gabriel. She had just finished cleaning and wrapping her legs when she felt a gust of night air brush across her skin, signaling the lateness of the evening. If she was to reach Gabe by nightfall she'd have to get moving. Second later saw her on her feet, the reassuring weight of the machete in her right hand, while the shot gun slapped against her back as she made her way out of the forested acreage, and back onto the roads, following the spray paint trail, as it put her on the path that lead straight to her nephew.

It was nightfall by the time Alice came upon the small town. The temperature had dropped slightly, and it had started to rain over an hour ago. Despite the air itself being warm, the rain was starting to become too much. Alice had given all her supplies to Gabriel, including her jacket. Right now, she only had her boots, torn up jeans, and a raggedy t-shirt. Obviously that didn't provide much in the way of keeping her warm. For the last 20 minutes a single word kept dancing through her mind 'hypothermia.'

Glancing up at the welcome sign, she smiled at the tag Gabriel had left behind, angel wings…"Smart ass."

With a shiver, Al moved in, going quickly and quietly, the rain posed a problem for her. It covered the sound of the biters while also obscuring her vision. However, there were some advantages to this weather; it provided her with some cover. It took some time to find the place, at last she came upon the convenience store with the mark, though the mark itself had been mostly washed away, but there was enough left for Alice to make out her name, and the last portion of the message. Running towards the market, she knocked on the window, within minutes a small light came on, and it moved towards her. Gabe opened the door and asked a single question. "You bit?"

For a second, Alice blanked and then she chuckled. "Lil brat."

Without any hesitation he let her in. Over the past year, the pair had developed a great deal of trust. Neither of them would even think of putting the other at risk by coming back after being bit. Al closed and locked the door behind them, and Gabe ran to the back of the store, towards the storage area. Not long after, the two were sitting down to a meal of power bars and the canned fruit that Gabe had found in the store.

Alice had put on some dry clothes and rolled up the pants legs, allowing her to pick out what remained of the splinters in her skin. She was still shivering from the rain, she actually felt cold despite wearing dry clothes…. It was probably nothing. After dinner, Gabe fell asleep, curled in the blanket, while Alice sat up to keep watch.

The rain storm had passed over in the middle of the night, or at least by the time Gabe had woken up; this was without the rousing shake curtesy of his aunt. She would have woken him up during the night to take his turn on watch. This wasn't usual for him. Normally Alice never missed a chance to get in her share of sleep. Sitting up, he looked glanced around the room, his eyes falling on his aunt. She could be found curled up on the floor; perhaps she fell asleep while on watch and didn't think to wake him up. Pushing away the blanket he stood and made his way over to her, going on edge when he noticed that she was shivering. "Alice?"

He got one look at her face and grabbed the blanket and threw it over her. Her eyes were slow to movement, and she was shaking like crazy. She was hypothermic; it must have set in during the night. Al's skin was freezing to the touch, and glazed over in a cold sweat. Gabe didn't know what to do, his aunt had been injured in the past, but it was sprain, nothing that made her unconscious. He could feel the tears welling up at the panic set it; he couldn't lose her, not after he had just got her back. Without much thought, he tried to drag her into the streak of sunlight that poured into the room, and then he curled up under the blanket, pressing his body to hers in an attempt to give her warmth. Alice was conscious, but confused, her eyes looking out at nothing, while Gabe stared up at her. "You can't die." His whispered plea went unanswered, and he hugged her closer.


	5. Strangers

Through most of the morning, Gabe made himself useful by attempting to give his Aunt some warmth, pulling together scraps of cardboard and paper from the store; he used what he could from their lighter to make a small fire. It was a pitiful thing, it would have been better with some wood, but Gabriel was afraid to leave Alice alone. She was still curled up on the cold unforgiving floor. He could tell she was making attempts to still her shaking, she was awake, which was a good sign, but she was still in limbo as far as thoughts went. There were points where she was hyper sensitive to what was going on around her; this caused her eyes to dance around in their sockets wildly, snapping to attention at each ill placed sound. However, that energy dissipated, leaving her exhausted. Gabe didn't know much, all he knew was that he needed to keep her awake and she needed to stay warm.

This continued to several hours, accompanied by Alice's weak voice, prompted by Gabe's demands that she sing. A trick he learned when he watched an old cartoon where two kids were trapped in an avalanche, he couldn't remember the name of show, but he was sure it would help. Alice complied, if only to humor him. "And the seasons, they go round n' round, painted ponies go and down, they're captured on a carousel of time."

Her eyes wandered around for a moment and then settled on her nephew's face. There seemed to be moment of clarity in Alice, a weak smile graced her features, causing the bandage to slack around her cheek, revealing the wounds. Gabe flinched at the sight, revolted, naturally, though a great pang of guilt went through him right after. "It'll be alright Gabriel; everything will be ok, promise."

He could only nod in response, taking comfort in the constant promise his aunt made whenever there was some sort of danger. Though, this was different, right now, she wasn't the one who was the strength of the pair, she was down and out, with only a 12 year old to depend on. Gabe had experienced much heart ache and loss of loved ones in the past year or so, and he couldn't bear the loss of another. Especially one he had only just gotten to know, it was too cruel. He hugged his aunt all the closer, willing his body heat to seep into her, hoping it would make all the difference. She had lost consciousness again, her eyes mere slits.

Suddenly, there came a crash from main area of the store. Gabe froze, terror gripping him. The biters must have heard him. Quietly as possible, he pulled himself out from under the blanket, grabbing one of the knives that Alice had given him yesterday. Creeping towards the door, he pressed his right ear against its surface, waiting, listening. He could hear the sound of footstep from the main floor, they were clear and confident. They did no shuffle or stumble like the dead; those were sounds of the living. Gabe looked towards his aunt, hoping for some reassurance, it didn't come this time, she had passed out. He was about to go to her, hoping the intruder wouldn't find them, but then he heard voices, which confirmed that there was more than one person outside the door. "Someone must of come through, took out two walkers, probably hunkered down to wait out the storm."

This voice was heavy with a southern accent, that much Gabe was certain of. A second voice made itself known. "Whoever they were, they're not here now."

The footsteps moved closer towards the storeroom, Gabe fingers were cramping around his knife's handle. His eyes darted towards Alice, and then he looked at the door handle, waiting for it to turn, waiting to spring on the intruder. "Let's keep looking, Beth says we're almost outta' formula."

There was no more movement, from the sound of it, the southern man was moving away from the door. The group started moving around the store again, obviously in search of supplies. Gabe blanked for a second…That was a woman talking, and what did she mean by formula? Curiosity was starting to get the better of him, Alice was gonna kill him, but he had to see. He reached for the door, and as quietly as possibly turned the handle, resulting in its opening just a crack, giving him enough room to peak out. With one last look at Al, he slipped out the door and began creeping around the short aisles of the store, keeping an eye out for the strangers.

It didn't take long to spot them. They had turned their attentions to the far side of the store, a space that Gabe hadn't touched, seeing that it out had cheap diapers meant for emergencies on long road trips. Gabriel nestled in behind a display of moldy bread; he could see the strangers perfectly from here. He had been right about there being a woman, There she stood, next to an Asian guy, the two were taking up armloads of diapers, they looked to be heading outside to unload them. It was then that he noticed that their third person wasn't with them. Within a second, as that realization struck, he heard the shuffling of feet. Quick as a whip, Gabe stood and spun around; knocking over the bread display in the process, only to come, face to chest with a very tall and scruffy looking man. He backed up, knife at the ready.

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The kid looked no older than Carl, probably younger than him. The fact that he was scrawny didn't help in Daryl's attempt at deducing a precise age. Still, despite being skinny as a twig, the kid looked fed and healthy, and pretty damned determined to defend himself. Daryl relaxed his stance, making an attempt to show the kid that he wasn't going to hurt him, but the boy only had eyes for his crossbow. Those beer bottle eyes were wild with fear, without a second thought, the kid lunged, it was poor attack if anything. Dixon grabbed the boy's arm and twisted it, relieving the kid of his weapon. Within seconds, hysterical screaming tore through the store. Glenn and Maggie jumped and looked around, shocked to find Daryl wrestling a kid to the ground.

They dropped their supplies and ran over to help. The boy was clawing at Dixon's arms, trying to get away. "Let me go!"

Maggie moved to grab the kid, making every attempt to be as gentle and non-threatening as possible. "Woe, calm down sweetie, we're not gonna hurt ya…"

He eyed her up and down, still on edge. Dixon watched him. Noticing how his attention was constantly being thrown over her shoulder, in the direction of the store room. Maggie brushed the boy's hair out of his eyes. "Where are your mom and dad, is there anyone with you?"

The kid wouldn't look at her; he seemed to be thinking his answer over. Slowly, she shook his head. Maggie gave him a pitying look. "Oh hun, I'm sorry."

Glenn looked over at Daryl, watching him as he began to walk towards the door where the boy had come out of. The kid looked up, and realized what was going on, and before Maggie could get a firm grip on him, he ran at Daryl and jumped him. His fist's beating against the hunter's back. The boy was screaming bloody murder, doing everything he could to keep them away from that door. Dixon managed to get a hold of the wild child, and all but plucked him off his back. Suddenly, the commotion was interrupted by an explosion of sound, a gun had gone off, propelling a bullet right past Daryl's head and into the wall he faced. A weak but firm voice sounded off behind him. "Let him go!"

Daryl's grip on the boy did not slacken. The gun cocked. "I said, let him go, now!"

The redneck removed his hands, and the boy rushed past him, swiping up his fallen weapon as he went. Dixon turned and took in the scene only to discover that the voice belonged to a rather willowy looking woman, her brown eyes were slits in her sunken sockets, and her skin was a sickening white. The woman had a 20 gauge shotgun firmly in her grasp and she looked ready to collapse under its weight. What looked like a nasty looking injury on right cheek covered by a slightly blood stained bandage. It had been wrapped around her head, weaving through a series of short black curls. At one point, she might have been considered average, maybe even decent looking, but like everyone else, she looked like she'd been to hell and back.

The kid hugged her, and she maneuvered him to where she made herself a barrier between him and the supposed danger the Atlanta group posed. Maggie took in the symptoms, watching how the woman's eyes would go out of focus, and how her legs seemed ready to give at any moment. The boy glanced up at her, knowing how much effort it was taking for her to remain standing without betraying any form of weakness, in all honesty, he had his hand pressed against her back to keep her from stumbling. "Now, we're gonna to walk out of here, nice and easy, you don't follow us, and I don't _fix_ any of you."

She could feel a fainting spell coming on but she shook it off, still keeping her eyes on the group. "Go get our stuff."

He stared at her, seeing the slight sway in her stance. "B-but, Al…"

This time she looked at him, and in that moment he could see how desperate she was. "Now!"

The boy glanced at the group and then back at his aunt, reluctantly he removed his hand and did as he was told. Right as he turned his back, he heard her collapse onto the floor. He spun and went to her. "Alice? Alice!"

This time there was so response, he looked up at the group, and grabbed for the gun. Only then did he notice how unfamiliar it felt in his grip. Eyeing the unconscious form of his aunt, he dropped the unloaded weapon and embraced her, noting how shallow her breathing had become. Taking in the strangers, he gave a look route with confusion; he wasn't sure what to do anymore. Tears were starting to make their way down his face accompanied by the dawning realization that he was going to lose the last person he had. "No, no, no, no."


	6. The Prison

The group moved in, Maggie taking the boy in her arms, he came willingly. The kid watched as Daryl scooped his aunt up and carried her out of the store. Glenn followed after him. Maggie knelt down and wiped away the kid's tears. "Your friend will be just fine."

He looked terrified at the idea of trusting these people, but he didn't have much of a choice. "What's your name hun?"

Pushing the heel of his palm into his eyes to expunge the tears, he muttered. "Gabriel…"

Maggie smiled. "Alright Gabriel, why don't we grab your stuff, and then we'll get your friend some help."

Gabe nodded, and the pair retrieved the bags from the storeroom and joined the others outside. There was one car waiting, and Daryl was in the process of unloading Alice in the back seat. The group piled into the car, Daryl and Glenn sitting in the front, while Maggie, Alice and Gabe occupied the back. Everything else had been thrown in the trunk.

As they drove, Daryl looked into the backseat. "Whadya think?"

Maggie took a second to examine her, eyeing the wound on her cheek. If she had been bit, she'd be showing signs of infection by now. "I don't think she's been bit."

The kid glanced at Daryl anxiously. "No, she wasn't bit; she wouldn't have met me if she got bit."

She turned a gentle eye on Gabe. "What makes you think that?"

Gabe shrugged, as if it was the most obvious thing. "It's one of our rules."

The group looked puzzled for a moment. Maggie stared at Gabriel. "Rules?"

He nodded. "We always had rules about this stuff."

Daryl looked into the mirror again. "Like what?"

Gabriel shrunk away from the question, Dixon made him nervous. Suddenly he blurted out. "Don't talk to strangers…"

For a moment, the corners of Daryl's lips twitched. Maggie glared at him, and then looked at Gabriel. "Well how about we tell you our names and then we won't be strangers anymore?"

That seemed to make sense, so he nodded. "Alright, I'm Maggie."

The Asian guy turned in the front seat, and took Gabe's hand and shook it firmly. "I'm Glenn."

The boy looked into the review mirror for a moment, catching the driver's eye. "Daryl."

A small smile played on Gabe's lips, this all seemed so normal to him, doing introductions, shaking hands. "What's your friend's name?"

He froze for a moment, it was fine for him to give his name, but Alice had always come off as incredibly protective of any and all information pertaining to her. Even her name was too much to hand out these days. Still, these people said they were going to get her some help, so what harm was there in telling them something as simple as a name, he wasn't giving away that they were related. Although, in the last group they had joined, Alice had claimed that she was Gabe's mother, he never understood why she had lied about that; "Her names Alice."

The group spent the rest of the drive trying to get more information out of Gabe, he talked about where the two had come from, not in the way of where they had lived before the end, but he did his best explaining what had happened the day before. On that subject, he was talkative, but when it came to any "personal" questions about his aunt, he would grow quiet. Gabe wanted to say more about her, but he didn't want her to be upset with him when she woke up, if she woke up. Maggie took notice of the worried look on the boy's face. "She'll be alright."

He nodded numbly. "She always says that..."

Glenn looked over his shoulder. "Has she ever been wrong?"

At that moment, Gabe lips turned upwards into a weak smile. "No, I guess not."

Satisfied, Glenn returned his attention to the road, glad to hear the kid opening up again. Daryl's eyes slid his way, and he muttered, "Ya shouldn't get his hopes up like that, we don't know if she'll make it."

Glenn fixed him with a level look, "What makes you think she won't?"

Dixon shrugged. "I'm just saying…"

He glanced into the review mirror for a moment; the kid said that she had been out in the storm last night for several hours. So that meant that she wasn't all that far along in her sickness, it probably wasn't helping that this woman looked like she hadn't slept well in days, maybe even weeks. That was no surprise, she had been hell bent of risking everything to keep the boy alive, made sense that she would risk her health to keep him fed and well rested. His eyes returned to the road. She was stranger, but no one especially that kid should have to go through loosing another person, that in mind, Daryl stepped on the gas.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When the group reached the prison, the gates were opened immediately by Carol and Carl, the car sped by them. Carol caught sight of an extra body in the car. The pair followed the car up the path and towards the prison. Daryl pulled the vehicle up to the main entrance and shut off the car. Alice had succeeded in regaining some form of consciousness a couple miles out from the prison. Though most of what she said came out garbled, and her eyelids felt like led. She made attempts to get up, but Maggie wouldn't let her despite Alice's slurred and somewhat delirious declarations of, "M' fine, j-us cold."

Glenn called over to Carl as he was coming to meet them. "Go get Herschel and Rick, we're gonna take them to Block A."

Looking over at the new comers, Carl nodded and took off toward the garden. Daryl made his way around the car only to run into Carol. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "Found the kid and her in a store we were raiding."

Carol looked Alice over carefully as Glenn and Maggie brought her into the prison. "She bit?"

Dixon shook his head. "Maggie thinks she hypothermic, the kid said she got caught out in the storm last night."  
Her attention shifted to Gabriel, who was quickly dragging their bags after his aunt. "Did you ask her the questions?"

Daryl raised an eyebrow. "Keep's going in and out…"

He could see her eyes soften as she continued to watch the boy. Carol nodded and started to make her way towards Gabe. She grabbed the duffle from him, and introduced herself. It didn't take long for the kid to warm up to her, within seconds she had him talking.

At that moment, Herschel and Rick were coming up from the garden. "Carl said you found people on your run?"

The trio made their way into the prison and towards Block A. "A kid and a woman, the woman's sick, was out in the storm last night. Might of had a run in walkers, right cheek is torn up pretty bad."

Herschel managed to keep pace with him, "Bit?"

They entered Block A and went to the first cell. Maggie, Glenn, Carol, and Gabe had managed to fit themselves into the room. Several blankets had been thrown over Alice in an attempt to keep her warm. Gabriel heard the question and was quick to answer. "She wasn't bit, she wouldn't have come back it's a rule."

Herschel hobbled into the cell and looked Alice over, removing the bandage on her cheek, despite her half-hearted protest. Glancing toward Gabe, who looked back nervously, the old man smiled. "You're right son, but she's sick."

The boy nodded. "Will she be ok?"

Carol stepped in. "She'll be fine, she just needs some rest…. Why don't I take you to our library?"

Gabe backed away from her, grabbing for his aunt's hand, she gripped his in turn. "No."

There was an uncomfortable silence, but Carol understood the boy's desire to stay near his companion. "Alright, just make sure you stay out of Herschel's way ok?"

The boy nodded and sat down beside his aunt; Carol smiled at him and took her leave. Herschel looked towards his daughter. "I'm gonna need that IV, we'll need to pump some warm fluids into her, get the first aid kit too, that cheek needs stitching."

Maggie nodded and went to get the IV, Glenn went with her. Herschel glanced up at Daryl. "Do we still have some of that venison stew left over from this morning?"

Dixon nodded. "Good, I wanna try and get her eating."

Herschel had managed to dismiss almost everyone from the cell. He turned his attention to Alice, and pulled the blankets down, Alice pulled away from his touch almost instinctively. After a couple minutes of keeping her still, Herschel managed to examine her. Only to find several cuts, some scars, and some very nasty bruises on her arms, but not a single bites. Though, there was a suspicious bit of trauma found on her thighs, made up of fading bruises and scars. Pulling the blankets over her, Herschel noticed that she was watching him through heavy eyes. Despite being delirious, Alice knew exactly what he had seen. Gabe looked between them, sensing the tension.

Thankfully, Maggie and Glenn chose that moment to return with the IV and the first aid kit. It didn't take long to hook Alice up and get the fluids flowing. The vet then went to work on stitching her face. At that point, she was so exhausted that she could barely register the pain as the needle pulled the thread through her flesh. By the end of the entire ordeal, Alice was out for the count, too far gone to even think about eating. So the stew Daryl brought was left on the table outside the cell.


	7. Dreamless

Herschel hobbled out. "She'll need plenty of rest. That girl has been through hell and back, doesn't look like she's eaten or slept much, so her immune system's weak."

Rick looked toward the pair, watching the boy go through one of the bags and pulled out what looked like a folded up photograph, sitting on the bed alongside the woman, he pulled his legs to his chest and looked at the picture, almost longingly. "We're lucky they found them, another night like that, without treatment, she could have died."

Nodding, Rick turned his attention to Herschel. "So we got to her just in time."

Herschel smiled. "As long as there are no complications and we keep pumping warm fluids into her, she'll be awake soon."

The pair made their way out of the block A. Rick glanced over at Daryl. His second in command nodded, resulting in him being left to keep an eye on the newest additions to the prison. As they left, Rick asked about Gabriel. "What about the boy?"

Walking out into the main area, Herschel smiled slightly. "She took good care of him. No signs of sleep deprivation. He's a bit thin, but not malnourished."

The weak fall sun provided some warmth on their backs as they made their way back to the garden "Mother and son?

With a shrug, Herschel began to eye the snow peas that dangled on their vines. "Could be…. They have the same eyes."

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Gabe didn't leave his aunt's side all morning. He moved constantly around the cell, at first sharing her bed, and then sitting on the floor across from her. Watching, waiting for her to wake and tell him what he needed to do, tensing when he noticed how her eyes would dart back and forth under her lids, how she appeared to be crying out in her sleep.

Though she desperately required rest, Alice's mind refused to stop working. It felt as if it was making up for lost time, all the information not categorized was now being sorted, it was like watching a fast running horror flick. Gabe's terrified face sped by, followed by the sound of his sobs, the yellowed eyes of her sister and the blackened blood that bubbled around Alice's machete as she put her only sibling down, the skeletal fingers of the biters, and suddenly time seemed to slow. She could feel the suffocation of another person on-top of her, smell his sweat, hear the ragged breathing, practically feel the pain when she tried to fight, definitely feel the pain when she felt the invasion of space, the wall in her throat that held back any form of sound. Time moved again, and she was walking, the blood on her face smelled rancid and tasted like rust. Reaching a small creek, she cleaned herself up, Gabe couldn't know. At long last, her mind quieted, and Alice's sleeping form had succumbed to exhaustion, and the dreams slipped away, she was too tired to hold onto them.

The sun had just begun to set when Carol came into the block, bringing with her, three plates of food. She greeted Daryl with a smile, and enquired after the two new additions to the group, "she still sleeping?"

Her question was met with shrug. "Seems like it."

Putting the tray on the table, Carol sighed. "What about the boy?"

The pair looked into the cell. Gabe had fallen asleep only an hour ago, curled up next to his aunt. "He passed out a while ago, took him a while to get used to me being out here."

Carol sighed, placing the food in front of Daryl. "Did he say anything?"

He shoved a spoonful of stew into his mouth, shaking his head, only answering once he swallowed. "Eh, kid doesn't wanna talk, not gonna force him to."

She made her way into the cell. The kid was resting against the wall opposite the woman's bed. Leaning against the doorframe, Carol studied them in silence. The woman looked better now that the blood had been washed from her, but it didn't distract from the thinness of the face, and there seemed to be a residue of tears left on her cheeks. The short black curls of her hair were snarled into her scalp, clumped with blood, sweat and dirt. Though, it did look like Herschel had made attempts to clean out some of the dirt when he was cleaning the scar on her cheek.

Looking toward the boy, Carol went inside. Taking a knee, she gently shook the boy awake. He jolted for a second, ready to go on the defense. His eyes went to his aunt for a second in a state of panic, but once he took in the calmness of her sleeping form, he breathed easy and looked at Carol. The gray haired woman smiled reassuringly "You hungry?"

As if to answer, Gabe's stomach relinquished an angry growl. He flushed in embarrassment, and the pair shared a mutual smile. Carol got up and offered her hand to him. "Common, let's get you something to eat."

Gabe looked ready to take it, but his eyes jumped to Alice. Taking notice of this, Carol made moves to reassure him. "We'll be outside, she'll be alright."

There was a moment of quiet deliberation, but it didn't take much for Gabe's stomach to win the argument. He followed her at a safe distance. When he saw Daryl sitting at the table outside, he froze, looking to Carol, slightly panicked. Realizing the issue, Dixon put down his food, he fixed the boy with a look. "Kid, I ain't gonna do anything to you, or your friend, now get over here and eat something before you pass out."

Carol shot Dixon a glare, but retracted it when Gabe appeared to respond to the order that had been given. Though, the execution was a bit slow. Be that as it may, within minutes, the kid snatched a bowl of stew and began gulping down the broth greedily.


	8. Cognac

It seemed that Gabe was far hungrier than he thought. It felt like forever since he had eaten something that was cooked through and warm. Alice was a decent chef, but she was semi useless over a fire. Through their wanderings, his aunt had been trapping rabbits and squirrels with strands of guitar wire; she had referred to them as urban reusable snares. It worked pretty dang well all things considered, but the meat usually came out dry, minimal or bland. This stuff wasn't exactly top notch cooking, but compared to what Gabe and Alice had been living off of, this was manna from heaven.

For the first time since he got here, the boy was smiling. His eyes lit up with the action. But they wandered in the direction of Carol's soup, which she pushed in his direction. After downing that, Gabe felt full for the first time in a year. It was such a disgustingly wonderful feeling. A feeling that many avoided in the old world, but now, it was welcomed.

Putting the bowl down, the boy looked around the block, taking in the surroundings, looking back towards the cell that his aunt resided in. "So, Gabriel, how did you meet your friend?"

He glanced over at Carol, a bit unsure in how he should answer. After a couple minutes of deliberation, he felt that it was ok to answer. "She's my aunt."

Going back to picking at the meat, the boy didn't seem to notice Carol and Daryl sharing a look. "What about your parents?"

Gabe froze for a second, recalling their faces, the ones of the living, and those they bore when they were walking corpses. He looked up at Carol, holding the gaze for a moment, only answering when he looked away. "Got bit…"

This wasn't some odd occurrence, everyone had lost someone, but seeing a child repeat such a horrible happening was slightly overwhelming. "Did your aunt put them down?"

He couldn't eat anymore, the combination of being full and talking about his mom and dad was too much. Gabe pushed the bowl away. In response to Carol's question, he nodded slowly "She came down from Boston to find us when it started."

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he peeked up, finding Carol looking down at him in pity, while imploring him to explain further. "I don't wanna tell you anymore, Alice doesn't like me talking about this stuff."

The adults shared a look, and seemed to agree that there was no point in pushing their luck. They would just have to wait till Alice was conscious and able to speak for her nephew and herself.

In an attempt to steer the conversation away from forbidden territory, Daryl surprisingly made an attempt to gain Gabe's trust. "What were you and your aunt living off of?"

Gabe's hands ringed in his lap. This man made him nervous, and he wasn't exactly sure why. Still, he answered all the same, though his voice came out hushed. "Alice says the ashes of past existences are what feed us…"

He could remember that moment very clearly. It had been a rough morning, composed of rain, and too many biters to count. The pair had settled into a secluded cabin, Alice called Gabe over to what might have been a home office. She showed him her find, an unopened safe. After messing with it for almost an hour, Alice managed to crack it open. For a moment, Gabe watched as her shoulders drooped, almost melancholy at the sight of a stack of $100. Priceless once, but now they were only good for getting a fire going.

Suddenly, she laughed and reached her hand into the depths of the safe. Pulling out a bottle of golden liquid, the label read "cognac." The way his aunt's eyes lit up at this marvelous find. The pair made a fire in the cabin's woodstove, Alice even let Gabe try some of the alcohol, he didn't understand why she was so happy about finding it, it burned going down, plus it made him sleepy and it made her act weird. Still, he liked the moments spent in that place, it was quiet. Alice seemed calm, and she even cracked a real smile, even though it was caused by too much alcohol. The cabin was overrun a week into their stay, and they had to abandon it.

Dixon blanked for a bit, until he cracked a smile. Gabe mouth twitched slightly in return. "She said that after she found a bottle of booze a few months ago."

The redneck shrugged at Carol. "At least we know she's a sappy drunk."


	9. Awake

Gabe had finished eating a while ago, but he wasn't sure if it was ok for him to go back to his aunt. Noticing the slight discomfort, Carol gave him permission; which resulted in the boy all but running back to the cell. They watched, as he grabbed for the duffle and pulled out what appeared to be a couple books. He looked between them for a second before settling into the one with the dark blue cover. "He's not use to being around anyone but her. It'll take a while for him to settle."

As night fell, and the sky darkened, Carol left the block. Leaving Daryl to himself, they had all agreed that Daryl sleep in one of the cells in order to keep an eye on the new comers.

When the sun peaked into the barred windows of the block, it didn't wake anyone. If anything, it was a groan that woke Gabe; he had fallen asleep while reading. Alice shifted, and there was a deep intake of breath, a gasp of pain, and then one of surprise. She shot up from the bed, hitting her head hard on the top bunk. "Shit!"

Her nephew threw the book off him and practically tackled her, crying. "Alice! You're ok!"

For a moment, she appeared to be in shock, and didn't return the gesture. Finally, without a word, she took Gabe in her arms and held him close. There was a noise as the door of the cell. Instantly, Alice pushed Gabe behind her, reaching for her duffle, only to find it empty. Her eyes narrowed as she took in Daryl. She made an attempt to get up, but her body was sore from the fall, and the IV tugged at her arm in a somewhat painful manner "son of a—!"

Dixon eyed her carefully. "Ya should go back to sleep."

She blinked, completely gob smacked by the calmness with which he was approaching the situation. Alice remembered what went on between them, how could he behave like this after she threatened to shoot him? Gabe came out from behind her. "That's Daryl; he took us here to help you. You passed out."

Taking her attention away from the redneck, Alice's eyes softened as she looked at her nephew. "Did he really?"

The boy nodded, and his aunt appeared to be mulling over the information. "Did they ask you anything, did you tell them anything?"

Gabe looked guilty for a moment; it was enough to clue Alice in. Returning her attention to Dixon, she eyed him up and down. Finding him to be well fed, clean, and shirtless, upon realizing this, her eyes jumped up to his face, making every attempt to pretend she hadn't noticed. Though, her reaction was enough to clue the redneck in. He was holding a t-shirt in his hand, and immediately went about putting it on; his face betraying him by turning the slightest shade of red. Finding the need to distract from that awkward, nonverbal exchange, Alice felt a dull thudding pain in her cheek; it felt as if a new injury had been attained while she had been out. Placing her hand on her face, she snuck her fingers under the fresh bandaging, only to find several expertly applied stitches. She ran her tongue along the inside of her cheek, feeling the intruding thread, grimacing when it stung slightly. Never taking her eyes off the man at the entrance to the cell, Alice spoke to her nephew. "Gabe, what did they ask you?"

Glancing up at Daryl, she raised an eyebrow. "Some privacy would be nice you know."

He didn't budge. "I'm supposed to be keepin an eye on ya."

Her eye narrowed. "What do you honestly think I'm gonna achieve by speaking to my nephew in private? I'm fell from a fucking hayloft, got my face torn open, and I'm hooked up to an IV for some reason."

Alice could tell she was pushing buttons with this guy, but her outburst didn't bring out the anger that was obviously sitting pretty behind those eyes. Instead, he shrugged "Tough shit."

It was as if a fire when off in her head, but one look at her nephew muted it. Taking a deep breath, she ignored the man and continued speaking to Gabe. "Well?"

The boy looked between the adults, and decided to ignore the anger in the room. "They asked who we were, I told them."

Nodding, Alice raised her eyebrows expectantly. "I told them about mom and dad."

There was an uncomfortable pause, Alice hated that subject, and she hated talking about it, referring to it, remembering it, dreaming about it. Everything involving a recollection of that event was worthy of loathing. Her lips thinned for a second, and she looked down at her hands, finding them to be the most fascinating things in the room. Taking a deep breath, she smiled at her nephew and reassured, "ok, that's ok hun."

Once again, she looked over at Dixon, eyeing him, "Gabe, why don't you take your book outside, and get some reading done."

Without a single word of protest, her nephew grabbed his book from the bed, took one last look at the adults and left the cell. Slowly, Alice got out of bed, only to shriek when she realized that someone had taken off her jeans, leaving her in nothing but a pair of heavily used women's boxer shorts. Within seconds, she had grabbed the blanket from the bed and wrapped herself up in it. Well, this second meeting was going well, better than the last. At least she wasn't threatening to shoot him, though this situation could be better. Trying to regain her last shred of dignity and composure, Alice nodded her head and the chair across from her. Not requiring much instruction, Daryl took a seat. "You looked like you had questions, figured it would be best if Gabe didn't hear my answers."

Dixon nodded. "I only have three."

She looked out a Gabe for second, then the floor, and finally at him. "Alright, shoot."


	10. Revert

Suddenly, she held up her hand to stop him from speaking. "Hold on."

She raised her voice, making it loud enough for her nephew to hear. "Gabe, are you reading like I asked?!"

He heard the scuffle of a chair, so the boy had been listening, "Yeah!"

Her head cocked slightly, "You sure about that, cause when I tell you to read, that means I want your attention on the book, not on what's going on over here."

There was silence for a moment, which seemed to confirm that Gabe was doing as he was told. "Sorry, it's the only way to distract him now."

He nodded, but she interrupted again. "What are these questions for?"

Alice was eyeing him carefully, her body seemed tense now. At this moment, he noticed how on edge she appeared to be, as if ready to spring if he did anything that didn't sit right with her. He was used to making people feel this way, but comforting them, this was foreign; Daryl had never been great at reassuring others, especially when they actually came this close to putting a bullet in him. "They're to figure out if you're ok."

Well, that was ominous. "What do you mean by ok?"

Did she need it spelled out? "Christ, it's to make sure you're not bat shit crazy."

Alice's eyes narrowed again, coppered flecks rearing as if on fire. Daryl watched as her muscles tightened, for a moment he caught the barest trace of flinch when she made an attempt to get up. It was then that he realized how much pain she was in. Taking a deep breath he tried to think of how Rick would go about speaking to a possible addition to the prison. This woman was smart and had managed to survive, all while looking after a kid.

Perhaps pushing the questions wasn't the way to go "How old is he?"

Alice blinked, she seemed surprised. Chuckling, her head dipped a fraction of an inch to where her bangs fell in front of her eyes. "Is that one of your…..Mental health questions?"

Her muscles seemed to relax "No, I was just…just curious."

Glancing out the cell door, Alice sighed "I honestly don't know. Didn't see much of Gabe until everything went to shit…"

Her eyes shadowed for a moment "You put em down…. His parents?"

Slowly, Alice nodded "Yeah, figured they turned the first couple weeks into everything."

She shifted a little, as if trying to get comfortable. "How many have you killed?"

Alice shot him a perplexed look, and then chuckled dryly "Family members?"

"No, no, I meant Walkers?"

She fell back against the wall where her bed sat "Dunno, I kept count for a while, but…."

She rubbed her forehead and then pinched the bridge of her nose "Too many I guess."

Her eyes wandered to the windows that looked down on the cell, Daryl watched her for a second before moving onto the next question "What about people?"

A shadow seemed to shroud her eyes, her hands tightened into fists. As much as Alice wanted to avoid this question, she knew there was no getting out of it. If she and Gabe were to stay here, be it a week or longer, she'd need to answer "I killed 5, possibly 10, hell maybe more than that…"

Daryl had not expected that, maybe 1 or 2 people, but more than 10 "Why?"

She finally looked at him, the brown of her irises seemed to harden, turning them into cold waves of obsidian. Alice blinked and averted her eyes as she forced the truth "There was a group, Gabe and I joined them, lots of men, only a few women…."

Her upper lip twitched, indicating a sneer of disgust "Funny how quickly society reverts to the days when women were valued for what a man can do to them, whether they liked it or not."

At last she looked at Daryl, the obsidian in her eyes rearing "When we ran, I killed their leaders, there were 5. I set the whole camp on fire so that whatever was left would scatter, so that no one would be able to hunt me and Gabe."

Alice stared at the redneck, he didn't seem like the type, then again she thought something similar when she met the leaders of the group that she decimated. It hadn't been until she met the women in the group, that she realized what those monsters were capable of. She found herself smirking, it was then she realized what she had admitted, and to a complete stranger. In some ways, it felt good to unload. In other ways it made her wary.

Daryl started to get up, her hand shot out and shackled his wrist. He stiffened at her touch, but didn't pull away. When he turned to look at her, he could see a strain of fear toiling about in her eyes "Will we be ok to stay here?"

Slowly, Daryl pulled away from her grasp "I'll talk to the Council."

Alice cleared her throat and nodded. So this place had a Council? They were that put together in order to instill a system of government? When she looked up again, she found that Daryl had left the cell.


End file.
